


peace

by aceofsparrows



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Post-Book: Through the Moon (The Dragon Prince), older!rayllum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28612911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofsparrows/pseuds/aceofsparrows
Summary: She squeezes his hand back, feeling that familiar little spark of magic at his fingertips. Arcanums are pulsing through both of their veins, and they’re not who they were five years ago.Today, they’re so much more.* * *a songfic inspired by "peace" by Taylor Swift, following Rayllum through a few years post-canon(rated T bc there's a bit of swearing and they are like, 25)
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Kudos: 40





	peace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jelly/gifts), [wordswithdragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordswithdragons/gifts).



> a little rayllum songfic, dedicated to the lovely and ever-talented wordswithdragons (@raayllum on tumblr) and jelly (@jellyjay on tumblr). I owe them both so much; joining this wonderful fandom and reading their amazing writing was one of the best parts of 2020 for me, and I can’t wait to see what 2021 and beyond has to offer for us all. 
> 
> thank you thank you thank you, and I hope you enjoy this 
> 
> songfic inspired by “peace” by taylor swift, aka the song we're all pretty sure was written for rayllum :)

_**Our coming-of-age has come and gone** _

_**Suddenly the summer, it’s clear** _

_**I** _ _**never had the courage of my convictions** _

_**As long as danger is near** _

_**And it’s just around the corner, darling ‘** _

_**Cause it lives in me** _

_**No, I could never give you peace** _

“Rayla, you don’t have to keep running.” 

Her back is turned. He was supposed to leave, to let her go and finish this on her own. But then again, Callum’s never been good at leaving. Deep down, she’s grateful for that. 

“Go, Callum. I know— We both know this isn’t going to end well. I don’t want you to—” She’s not going to cry. She told herself she wouldn’t. And yet… 

“I’m not leaving. I’ve told you that before, and I’ll keep telling you over and over again.” He takes a step up so they’re standing shoulder to shoulder, and slips his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together. “I love you, Rayla. I’m with you. No matter what.”

Callum squeezes her hand, and she looks sideways at him. The sun is setting behind him, and it rings his head in a soft pink-orange glow. Even though he’s taller now— the same height as her— and he’s lost a little bit of the roundness in his cheeks, he still looks so painfully the same. 

He’s still that dorky prince from the night everything changed. 

And yet he’s also so much more.

She squeezes his hand back, feeling that familiar little spark of magic at his fingertips. Arcanums are pulsing through both of their veins, and they’re not who they were five years ago.

Today, they’re so much more.

“Thank you,” she whispers, looking back out at the mountain before them. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

_**But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm**_

_**If your cascade ocean wave blues come** _

_**All these people think love’s for show** _

_**But I would die for you in secret** _

_**The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me**_

_**Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?** _

_**Your integrity makes me seem small** _

_**You paint dreamscapes on the wall I talk shit with my friends** _

_**It’s like I’m wasting your honor** _

Politics, Rayla has decided, are worse than anything else. Dark magic? Easy. Almost dying multiple times before the age of twenty? Practically nothing. Making it through a gala without slitting someone’s throat? Hardest. Shit. Ever. 

Callum, for his part, doesn’t seem to be enjoying it either. They’re here for Ez, mostly, and neither of them slept well last night. The nightmares are still making their rests fitful, even almost two years after the end of the war. It’s been hard, and tonight is supposed to be fun, and they owe Ezran this much.

But gods, does she want to punch someone.

“I’m going to get some air,” she says, smiling politely at Lord So-And-So who’s been droning on for almost twenty minutes now and slipping away from Callum to weave her way out of the room. The double doors to the balcony are open, and outside the moon is high and bright and nearly full. No wonder she’s been antsy; full moons are always worse.

The night air is warm and still, the sound of insects humming helping to calm her mind a little. She takes a deep breath in, holding it until the last second before sending the air whooshing back out with a great sigh. She’s leaning on the thick stone railing when she hears footsteps behind her, and a hand comes to rest gently on her back.

“Party getting to you?” There’s a slight rasp in Callum’s voice; tutoring for long hours during the day and waking up screaming at night aren’t exactly kind to the throat.

“Just tired,” she says softly, leaning into his side. “I don’t think I’m built for politics, Cal.” 

“Me neither,” he chuckles, but there’s little mirth in it. There’s a pause— a heavy, pleasant silence— before he continues. “Ez asked me to be his High Mage.”

Rayla straightens. “Really?” 

“I said no.” 

She frowns. “What? Why?” 

Maybe it’s the shadows from the moonlight. Maybe it’s the poorly-concealed dark circles from the lack of sleep. Maybe it’s that older-than-his-years look that’s always lingered in his eyes. Callum looks impossibly tired, and Rayla knows exactly how he feels. They have a similar weight in their bones, one that will never leave. They’ve seen things that, well… 

“I don’t really know why, but I don’t feel ready, you know?” He says slowly, looking out into the night. “I feel like there’s so much more I have to do— so much I _could_ do if I wasn’t High Mage. So I said no, and I told him he should ask Claudia instead, since she’s been here full time for a year already anyway, and she knows just as much about magic as I do, if not more. She may not be able to fully connect to an arcanum, but she’s one of the strongest mages I’ve ever met.” 

Callum lays his hand on top of hers where it’s resting on the railing and runs his thumb idly across the back of her hand. “And besides, I don’t think it would be fair to you. To commit staying here like that.”

Rayla smiles, small at first, then wider and slightly mischievously as she remembers something. “You know, the Duke of Serpentongue still thinks we’re faking this whole thing. Told me that the elves and humans may have allied in the war but he can’t possibly believe that a human— and a member of the Katolan royal _family_ , no less— would actually _marry_ an elf. I told him to fuck off, obviously.”

Callum actually laughs at that. “ _Obviously_. As if we haven’t known each other for like, over a fourth of our lives and ended like, a war and a half together.” 

She chuckles, grinning. “I know, right?”

He rolls his eyes playfully. “Some _people_ , gods…”

Their laughter dissolves into comfortable silence. Then, slow but steady, it begins to rain. Rayla looks up at the murky sky as the moon disappears into the clouds, smiling.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to see the Tidebound Archipelago.” 

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I hear it’s _lovely_ this time of year…” She smiles at him, and he grins back, wet hair starting to stick to his forehead. 

He steps forward, looping his arms around her waist and pulling her close so they’re standing nose to nose. Somehow, they’ve managed to stay almost the same height even after all this time. 

“I would _love_ to take you to the Tidebound Archipelago, _my lady_ ,” Callum says, voice low, giving her a slow kiss on the lips. 

“Mmm,” she hums back, resting her forehead on his. “Can’t say no to a prince, now can I?” 

“Never could.” He kisses her again, and it tastes like sweet punch and rain and possibility. 

“Never could, never will.”

_**And you know that I’d swing with you for the fences**_

_**Sit with you in the trenches** _

_**Give you my wild, give you a child** _

_**Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other** _

_**Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother** _

_**Is it enough?** _

_**‘Cause there’s robbers to the east, clowns to the west**_

_**I’d give you my sunshine, give you my best** _

_**But the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me** _

They travel for a year, then two. They’re married in their own sort of way somewhere along the way, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone. They don’t settle, exactly, but eventually they have a few homes in both Xadia and Katolis. 

Callum tries his hand at painting. 

Rayla learns to garden from Claudia, and spars with Soren when they’re at the castle, still winning most of the time. 

Things are quiet. 

And then one day in the village, Callum hears whispers. Two children, barely a year old, left on a doorstep. Too many mouths to feed, no one to take the poor things. 

“I’ll take them,” he says before he can stop himself. The old woman who runs the fruit stand clucks her tongue, shaking her head. 

“No good ever comes of a stray child, boy.” 

“I’ll take them,” he says again, firmer this time, and the younger man who sells the beeswax and always has a child or two underfoot gives him a sad smile. 

“I think the innkeeper’s keepin’ ‘em right now,” the man offers, and Callum makes sure to pay him little extra for the jar of honey. 

Later, as afternoon fades into evening, he walks slowly home with the copper-haired twins in his arms and the groceries in hand. Rayla has the sense not to look too shocked when she opens the door, but there are definitely questions in her eyes. 

They name the children— as after much inquiry, it seems they had no names before— old family names: Elspeth and Ezra. They sing them to sleep and sit by the fire afterwards, marveling at this sudden parenthood. 

“I couldn’t leave them,” Callum admits in the darkness. 

“I know,” Rayla replies softly. “I love you, and I know.” 

They may only have four parents left between the two of them, but they have memories, and they have so many people to help them. 

They’ll get through this, just like they have everything else. They always do.

_**But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm**_

_**If your cascade ocean wave blues come** _

_**All these people think love’s for show** _

_**B** _ _**ut I would die for you in secret** _

_**The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me**_

_**Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?** _


End file.
